“Wow, couldn’t they just make this something I can do at home?” I thought to myself as I begrudgingly climbed down my four story walk up to go catch Pokemon on my street (I admit, I’m part of the problem).

Regardless of the fact they forced us to leave our sweet Netflix cocoon, Pokemon is amazing. Most of us have already downloaded the altered-reality version of our childhood dream, but not all of us have gotten the hang of it.

The game doesn’t come with a set of directions, and it’s so different from every Pokemon game that came before it, so it takes a bit of time getting used to. In my first hour and a half with the game, I couldn’t even figure out how to find a Pokemon (yes, you really, actually have to leave your apartment). For those of you still struggling with the game — don’t be discouraged. Here’s some tips that will help you be the very best (that no one ever was…sorry, I had to).

1. You can find out how close wild Pokemon are to you.

If you’re not finding any wild Pokemon, you might be a little bummed out or wondering if your game is working correctly. Fear not! Take a look at the bottom right hand corner of the screen, and you should see a grayed-out silhouette of Pokemon. Those are Pokemon that are nearby. But you can’t actually find them? The footsteps next to the silhouette show how far away they are. No footprints means it’s right there. One footprint means you should start looking for rustling leaves on your screen, and walk in that direction (the rustling leaves indicate a Pokemon could be hanging out). Two or three footprints means you have to walk around a bit.

Once you’ve found a Pokemon, you might have discovered it’s way harder to catch than you actually thought. To catch a Pokemon you’ve got to hold the Pokeball at the bottom of the screen and swipe up. You’ll notice a white ring around your target, and as soon as you press the Pokeball, it starts to shrink. You want to swipe the ball up when the ring is at its smallest point in order to have the best chances of catching your Pokemon.

3. The Pokemon’s CP level and the type of Pokeball affects how easily the Pokemon can be caught.

Just like the regular Pokemon game, the higher a Pokemon’s level, the more difficult it is to catch. Some Pokemon are also quick runners, so you’ve got to move fast. We’re guessing Abra is one of these, just like the regular game.

4. Get a bonus for your catch.

If you drag and rapidly spin your Pokeball, you can get a curve ball bonus. It’s unclear whether the bonus gives you a better chance at caching a higher-level Pokemon or if you’ll get better XP points or items, but give it a shot!

5. The bigger, more well-known Pokestops have bigger pay offs.

Pokestops are created from landmarks in the area. When you visit one, you’re often chucked a couple Pokeballs for your effort, but the more well-known a landmark, the better a chance you have at getting something better. This isn’t always the case, but it does happen! Larger landmarks have a higher tendency to throw you more than three items and/or more powerful items.

6. Use a lure module or use someone else’s lure module to attract Pokemon.

You can place a lure module at any Pokestop to attract wild Pokemon for the next 20 to 30 minutes. The best part is, other trainers can also reap the benefits of your lure module (and you can reap the benefits of theirs!). To place a lure module, tap the white cylinder above the picture of the Pokestop, and it should open up an option to place a lure module.

See the white cylinder right between the text and spinning disk? That’s the option.

7. Transfer duplicate Pokemon to Professor Willow to level up more effectively.

Candies are one of the main ways you’re going to level up your Pokemon, but if you have multiple Pokemon of the same species on your trainer, you’re missing out on an opportunity to level up more effectively. Say you want to level up a Charmander. You need to get Charmander candies, but if you have a bunch of Charmanders, there’s not much of a point in doling out whatever candies you get evenly. You want to focus on one Charmander (unless you’re training a whole team of Charmanders and just hoping you never come across a water-type gym leader). Transfer the rest to Professor Willow, and get one Pokemon candy per Pokemon transferred, but know you can’t get them back, so be sure.